Life, love and happiness from a 40 something perspective

November 30, 2006

Take my blood, please

Crazy times. Getting ready for our annual holiday bash, trying to keep school going for the kids, basketball season started for Darren and Payton is getting ready for finals (and his first formal).

I gave blood today and had a somewhat frightening experience. Last time I gave, I realized that I have extremely small veins. The technicians had a really difficult time finding any veins in my arms. They had to call in the head honcho, and even she had a hard time. The giving of the blood that time was a very slow and deliberate process.

This time, still had difficulty locating the veins. I asked them to call in the head honcho right away because I didn't want to waste anyone else's time. She actually got a round of applause from her staff when she successfully stuck me and started the blood flowing. This time, however, the blood flowed rather quickly and the buzzer on my unit started going off way before anyone had expected it to. I gave, and I gave quickly.

As I sat down to eat my peanuts and drink my juice, I felt a little woozy. Normal. I settled in to read the newspaper and down some cookies and more juice. The words and letters became difficult to focus on and within a minute or so I knew something was wrong. I tried breathing deeply and drinking some more juice, but it kept getting worse. I leaned forward a bit to get a nurse's attention and just as I started speaking, she took one look at me and came rushing over. Apparently, I lost all color in my face and she knew I was going to pass out quickly. She grabbed me by the arm and the waist and laid me down on a nearby bench, had me put my knees up and put a cold cloth on my forehead. She turned a fan on for me and helped me rock my knees back and forth and wiggle my feet.

I have never felt that sensation before. I literally felt the blood drain from my brain. It felt like falling down a well in slow motion. I can't imagine experiencing that in a setting other than a medical one. I can see how people just fall to the ground. I could not have made the trip from the chair to the bench on my own. I would have fallen. I HATE feeling out of control, and that is certainly how I felt at that moment.

I felt somewhat better pretty quickly, however it took me about 1/2 hour to get my blood pressure back to a level where I felt safe to drive back to work. They had me eat all of the salty snacks so that the sodium would help elevate my blood pressure.

It is almost 8 hours later and I'm still feeling a little woozy and fuzzy headed. I've been drinking water and juice all day and trying to eat well. No wine for me tonight, I'd be loopy after a couple of sips. Tomorrow may even be questionable.

I'm starting to think that giving blood is not such a good idea for me. It is a difficult process and I don't want to feel like I did today ever again. I'm bummed, though, because I think it is really important. Dan gives about as often as he physically can and I love that. I wish it were a slam dunk for me. Not sure what I'm going to do.

Comments

I get light headed every time I give blood, so I've given up. I am sometimes pretty close to the minimum weight; that might be part of it. I fainted both times after trying to get up to go to the bathroom after childbirth. (blood loss) I think I just need all my blood. The sad part is that I really like to do so, and have no problem at all with needles and such.

The only time I ever gave blood I sat there forever after I was done waiting to make sure I was ok. I felt fine, so I got in my car and started driving. Everything went fuzzy and I felt very very sick. Luckily I pulled over and called my husband to come pick me up. I can't give blood now because I have to be 10 years cancer free first, but I'm not sure I will even then because of the horrible experience!